-= F i r e s t a r t e r =- ( Fanless Server ) - [ Dec / 4th ]

Yes, this is another "reviving old hardware" server.

Old Compaq Deskpro.
PII 266MHz
64MB RAM
7.5GB 5400RPM
4MB AGP Video Card
3 NICs

CPU
I'm trying to replace the CPU with a PII 333MHz since they run faster and a lot cooler than this 266MHz, that way I won't need any fan on the heatsink.

Typical Power
266MHz - 25W
333MHz - 14W

Maximum Power
266MHz - 38W
333MHz - 20W


HDD
That is what I could get for 10$ at this moment, in a future, whenever I get money, I'll get a big HDD to make it a file server.


NICs
Righ now I'll only use 2 of them, one connected to the DSL and the other one to my PC.
In the future, when I get to live with my GF I'll put the other NIC card I have and I'll connect her PC to the server as well and I'll use it as a router and printer server.


To make the case I've used emtpy DVD's cases.
I'll stack 3 of them, one over the other so that everything that is inside won't be seen and will be covered/protected.
I drilled holes to mount the motherboard and I've taken the PSU's PCB away from it's casing, drilled holes and I attached the PCB to the DVD.
As this is a real cheap server and mod, what I did to mount the motherboard and PSU, was to use stand offs, but I put them upsidedown, that way I can use screws at the bottom of the DVD to secure everything.
The HDD is going to be on top of the PSU, I'll get some L shaped metal and then I'll use elastic bands to suspend it.


As you can see, I've aligned the PSU's and the CPU's heatsinks, so that way I can add a 92mm fan on the right side of the PSU, that way it will cool the PSU, CPU and HDD at the same time.
I know I said this is going to be fanless, that's what I want, but I'll put a fan which is going to be able to go from 4V to 10V and also the posibility to turn it off, just in case.
The rear part of the DVD has holes, that's where all the connectors of the DVD were, that will help me to have a vent, without having to get a grill or something.


Another view of the server and how the heatsinks are aligned.


With the Dremel I cut the rear part, I/O and PCI.
You can also see on the left hand the "native" grill that the case will have.


A close up of the PSU.
You can also see the inverted stand off securing everything to the DVD's case.



So what do you think about this?
Ideas?
Opinions?

 

Could you take a shot from the front?

And you might want to consider putting your cards on a 90 degree riser, so they rest parallel to the plane of the motherboard. It looks like you are currently having height clearance issues, at least from the pictures you've shown.

 

im sorry but, what is the real point of a server? is there any point to it besides storing files on it? what else does it do?

cuz we got this crap computer (pentium 1 i believe) and it has a 1gb hard drive and id like to keep it, maybe i can remove the back (its a wierd desktop case) and maybe thow in a 2 ghz celeron in there, anyways i kinda wanna have it lol

 

theres many uses, maybe you have a nice connection and want to host a dedicated game server, or run apache on it and use it as an always on webs ervers or just a data dump. I've been wanting to get a server set up for awhile for apache and datadump but I don't see a point unless I got a good 500gb+ space to make it worthwhile as I already have enough space on main pc

 

1) fileserver
2) proxy/router
3) domain controller
4) firewall
5) e-mail
6) ftp (nice if you want access to files at home from work/school)
7) game server
8) SQL/mySql server (if you work databases all the time, having one at home to test with is pretty crucial)
9) webserver
10) tons of other stuff, just look around.

 

I can only get risers for 1 card, so this is going to be as it's shown at the pics, and well, it doesn't really matter since the PII is high too.

 

so why are you stacking it so high? you going to basically put the motherboard in the bottom of the stack and then use the front/sides/back of the other dvds to cover it up? Thats quite cool.

You wanna use somet to hide that psu from your hdd and mobo tho, bit close i rekon, all that current floating about in the air and all!

Cool tho


and in answer to server usage, whilst at uni i had redhat running on my server with ftp/ssh/apache etc running on it, ran a forum on it for my course mates to share stuff, worked out quite well in a v unlike me geeky way, i also used it to transfer all my files back and forth as only dealt with unix/linux at uni so it was great, want it back again but its in bits!

 

Yeap, that's right, the mobo is going to be at the bottom, and then I'll just use 2 more DVDs to cover everything.
The DVD on top is going to have the top cover on it, closing everything up. (I <3 ghetto modding )

About the PSU, I'm not really worried about that, the CPU is just going to be a 333MHz, so I don't think that the PSU will really mess with other stuff.
What do others think about that?

Thx Puk.

 

I like the idea but I'd take all the buttons off the front of the cases and either fill them in or use them as vents... just so it doesnt look like you have 4 dvd player cases stacked on top of each other ;P

 

And the question was?

Alvin

 

Good idea, I've taken the buttons away, but I'll leave it like that, so they'll be used as vents.
This is going to take just 3 DVDs, not 4.
I'll still leave the buttons on one of the DVDs.


Questions?

- So what do you think about this?
- Ideas?
- Opinions?

- What do others think about this?
"You wanna use somet to hide that psu from your hdd and mobo tho, bit close i rekon, all that current floating about in the air and all!"
About the PSU, I'm not really worried about that, the CPU is just going to be a 333MHz, so I don't think that the PSU will really mess with other stuff.

- Is there any software like the one used for LIRC circuits but instead of having to use a remote control, just use the buttons?
I have many LIRC circuits and remote controls, but I don't want to use them, I would like to make those buttons work for something.

 

If you were bothered by the PSU being noisy (in the electrical sense), you could try just fitting a bit of metal (eg, the top of one of those DVD players...) between it and the motherboard, that should be enough.

And i'm suprised no one else has asked, where the hell did you get so many (presumably dead) DVD players?

 

Right now my problem with the PSU is this one, it's not really a problem, but I'm waiting to see what others say about that.
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=75640

Yeap, they are all dead DVDs, a friend of mine gave them to me, they had several problems, even with its logic, so they took the logic away and they threw these DVDs and of course I picked them up.

 

May i ask how you would run a game server on a pentium 2??

 

I never said I was going to run a game server.

This is going to be used as a file server, router, printer server, and some proggies to download stuff, but I won't ever run a game server with this.

 

actually, i ran a game server on a PII for a long time, and it ran just fine. because most of the processing is handled by the individual connection computers, the processing performance on the server comp doesnt matter that much, as long as it can run the server itself. oh, and awesome mod. good idea, it'll be different.

 

ok Skylined np... Was just curious nice modding btw

 

Hi Skylined,

I have read you NARAYAN thread, and there you mentioned that it was difficult to get tools at a reasonable price where you live.

Seem to me that you may need to cut a bit of metal in those DVD's. Do you have what you need like metal saw or metal cutter tools?
Otherwise I would like to donate some.

Keep up the modding

Alvin

 

Thx Zephyr & MarkLP.

Fortunately I have a Dremel, I didn't even buy it here, I bought it in Argentina.
Right now all I need are some Dremel cutting discs, either the common ones or reinforced.
I'm cool with the common discs, I'm liking more the common ones over the reinforced.


Modding Main Power / ATX Power / Reset Buttons

All the DVDs came with buttons, but they aren't momentary, so... you know what that means.

As I'm going to stack 3 DVDs together, I'm going to have 3 buttons.
Top DVD: Main Power (220V AC) (Won't be modded)
Middle DVD: Power
Bottom DVD: Reset

Here is a pic of the button.
The other thing that you see is what was at the back of the DVD, where you plugged the AC cord.


I removed the heatshrink it had and saw two little tabs that secure the button's cover.


To unlock the cover, just straighten up the two little tabs.


These two things are the ones that keep the button in on or off mode, making it not momentary, which is what we need.
Just take them off.


Now everything is clean, now we have a nice momentary button to use for Power and Reset.
After this all you have to do is put the button's cover back on it and use the tabs to lock it.


These are the two parts that you have to take away in this button.



More mods and pics are coming, right now I'm recharging my digi cam's batts, whenever they're charged, I'll keep modding, upping pics and comments.

I hope you like this cheap mod.

 

The only thing a gaming server really does is rout connections and run a small cliet program to keep the trafic flowing. it doesnt run the actual game itself.